Upon hearing the noise, the others gathered from different directions. Once everyone was present, the Taoist priest led the way back.
As the group walked home, they didn't forget to look for any stray mushrooms along the way, and also chat about their mushroom-picking adventures.
This afternoon, everyone got to know many new mushrooms, some they had seen before, and some they had never seen before. Some were good-looking, some were not, and they came in all sorts of shapes and colors. Everyone really learned a lot.
Everyone shared where to find the most mushrooms, what to pay attention to when looking for mushrooms, and what tips they had.
Everyone chattered away the whole way, and Xu Han would occasionally chime in with her own mushroom-picking experience.
Although we returned relatively early, the journey was slower with so many people, and by the time everyone arrived home, the sun had already completely set.
Grandpa Zhao directed everyone to dump all the mushrooms they had picked that day into the front yard. Then, he and everyone started sorting the mushrooms so they could be dried and stored separately, making it convenient to grab whatever they wanted to eat.
Xu Han then led Dan Niang and Qi Yu to the backyard, where they picked out some mushrooms, washed them, and prepared them for dinner later.
Xu Han instructed, "Be gentle when washing these mushrooms. Don't use too much force, or they will easily break."
Also, these mushrooms are poisonous when they are raw, so you must not touch your mouth with your hands when washing them to avoid poisoning.
After washing mushrooms, be sure to wash your hands, and scald the utensils used to cut mushrooms with hot water. Otherwise, if they become contaminated with toxins, cutting other foods can also lead to poisoning.
Upon hearing this, Dan Niang hesitated and asked, "Are these mushrooms poisonous? Can we still eat them? Will we get poisoned?"
While washing the mushrooms, Xu Han said, "No, they're safe to eat as long as they're cooked properly, and they taste really good. But you have to be very careful when cooking them. If you don't know how to cook them, you absolutely mustn't try it, because you could get poisoned if they weren't cooked thoroughly."
I'll cook dinner tonight; you just watch. Try it again next time when you've learned how.
Upon hearing Xu Han's words, Dan Niang was instantly relieved. Just moments ago, she had been worried that she didn't know how to cook these poisonous mushrooms, and that if she didn't do it well, everyone would be doomed.
Fortunately, Madam said she would cook in a while, otherwise Danniang really wouldn't dare to cook dinner tonight.
We've picked so many mushrooms, we'll definitely be eating mushrooms tonight.
The mushrooms we picked today were a mixed bag, all sorts of mushrooms. Xu Han and her team picked and cleaned some of them, and then began preparing dinner.
With so many people, Xu Han didn't want to cook too many dishes, mainly because stir-frying is too troublesome. So, there were only two dishes for dinner today, but the portions were very large, each one a big bowl, enough to fill everyone up.
Dinner was simple: a stir-fried mixed vegetables dish, a mushroom and sliced meat soup, served with coarse flour steamed buns and pickles. It was another simple meal.
The first impression most people have of mushrooms is that they are poisonous and can kill people. People are even more hesitant to eat or try mushrooms they've never tried before.
So everyone looked at each other, holding their food, which smelled delicious, but no one dared to touch their chopsticks first.
Seeing that everyone was holding their bowls but hesitant to eat, Xu Han smiled and said, "Don't worry, everyone. We've eaten these mushrooms many times before, and they're not poisonous."
After Xu Han finished speaking, she started eating first. Ze'er and Mu'er, on the other hand, had eaten mushrooms many times before and were quite familiar with them. As soon as the dishes were served, they began to eat.
Seeing how much the host was enjoying his meal, the others couldn't resist and started eating as well.
As soon as the mushrooms entered their mouths, everyone exclaimed in admiration, saying they never expected them to be so delicious and that the flavor was incredibly fresh.
Zhu Qiang said, "No wonder those rich people are willing to buy these mushrooms to eat; they taste so fresh and delicious."
I was so focused on drying them and selling them for money that I never even got around to tasting them. They taste absolutely amazing!
Zhu Chunfeng chimed in, "We've really lost out this time. We used to just crush any mushrooms we didn't recognize. Who would have thought that these brightly colored mushrooms were edible, and so delicious at that?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Han quickly spoke up, "Although these mushrooms are edible, you can't just eat them indiscriminately."
Many of the mushrooms we picked today are poisonous. If you don't know how to cook them, please don't eat them. You could easily get poisoned and even die.
If you ever want to eat mushrooms in the future, go to the mountains and pick some non-poisonous fungi. Don't touch the poisonous ones, or you might get into trouble if you don't cook them properly."
Upon hearing this, everyone snapped out of their daze and secretly remembered what Xu Han had said.
Although mushrooms are delicious, if you don't know how to cook them, it's best not to eat them. Your life is much more important than food.
Madam Zhou said, "Don't worry, Madam. I will keep an eye on them from now on and make sure they don't pick mushrooms to eat on their own."
Dan Niang also said, "Yes, Madam, don't worry, we definitely won't pick mushrooms randomly in the future."
Hearing everyone say this, Xu Han finally felt a little relieved. She was really afraid that these people would be greedy and cause an accident, which would be troublesome, after all, it was a precious human life.
The others echoed this sentiment, promising they wouldn't pick and eat mushrooms indiscriminately, and Xu Han, seeing this, didn't say anything more.
After dinner, everyone sat in the yard, lit torches, and began sorting mushrooms.
Because it had just rained, the mushrooms couldn't be put in the basket, otherwise they would easily suffocate.
So the sorted mushrooms are temporarily piled up in the corridor. Tomorrow when the sun comes out, we can take them out to the yard and spread them out to dry.
With many hands making light work, it took about an hour to pick all the mushrooms.
The Taoist priest suggested that everyone continue picking mushrooms tomorrow, and Xu Han had no objections, so the itinerary for tomorrow was finalized.
The next morning, after breakfast, the same group of people set off for the mountains again.
It was still early today, so everyone went to a rather far place. The Taoist priest led everyone into the deep mountains, where there were even more mushrooms. With the Taoist priest and Lu Chuan there, no one was afraid, and they went deeper and deeper.
The mushrooms deeper inside are also larger, and they're easier to pick up.
Xu Han spent the morning picking mushrooms, and in the afternoon she returned with the group who had brought them back.
When they arrived home, Granny Ma had already laid out the mushrooms she had picked yesterday to dry and was sorting the mushrooms that had been delivered that morning.
With so many people, we've picked a lot of mushrooms. The number of mushrooms we've picked in the last day or two is almost equal to the number of mushrooms a few people picked in the entire previous year.
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